EXCLUSIVE: The man who was yesterday appointed Rangers’ global partnership director plans to take the Old Firm derby on a money-spinning world tour – including a stop-off in the Middle East.

THE man who was yesterday appointed Rangers’ global partnership director plans to take the Old Firm derby on a money-spinning world tour – including a stop-off in the Middle East.

The SPL champs announced that development expert Misha Sher will front the club’s new London office in a bid to “expand the brand in overseas markets”.

And in an interview with Record Sport the Ukrainian-born Sher laid out hisambitious plans to help the cash-strapped Ibrox club and city rivals Celtic cash in on their worldwide appeal by staging Glasgow derbies on foreign soil for the first time.

Sher – who just a year ago was hosting Derby County’s matchday TV channel – said: “Taking the Old Firm fixture abroad would be near the top of my agenda. I have to look at where the biggest value is.

“If there is an opportunity to do something with the Old Firm the appeal would be massive. It’s one of the world’s biggest rivalries.

“I wouldn’t be a proponent of having the teams play regular season games in other parts of the world but there is a chance to play in tournaments or take these teams to the Middle East, North America or other places. It should be looked at.”

Sher will step down from his post as a director of global football company Soccerex to begin his new job next week.

And he believes Rangers could be sitting on an international goldmine. He said: “We have to better leverage our traditions and history to engage with Rangers fans worldwide.

“We’ve seen it happen with other clubs like Manchester United and Liverpool.

“The goal is to explore the opportunities that are there. There are certain ties to India and North America, particularly Canada.”

Sher says he will talk with international broadcasters about buying up TV rights to Rangers matches and also plans to put in place strategic partnerships with football clubs around the world.

CAPITALISE

But he believes the biggest bucks will come from taking Ally McCoist’s team on tour.

He said: “There are three US national team players in the Rangers line-up.

“That gives us a great opportunity to exploit the Rangers brand in North America and start a dialogue with all the major broadcasters to make sure we capitalise on it.

“And we’ll also exploit the chance of touring there.”

Sher joins Rangers at a time when the club’s future is still under threat from an ongoing tax dispute.

But he said: “Regardless of what happens in the short term Rangers will get through these challenges. It’s too big a club not to.”

Chief operations officer Ali Russell added: “Misha brings a wealth of international experience and we are confident he will help deliver our global ambitions.”